Project Rewear : March Edition

I figured I had better add a March installment of this series before March is gone completely, so here it is.

Avoiding retail clothing this month was quite simple, mostly because my sweet and thoughtful husband gave me a J.Crew gift card for our first anniversary (that's right folks, 1 year!). I happily shopped the J.Crew sales (remember, gifts are ok) and made out like a bandit with a super cute navy cotton taffeta skirt, a salmon-colored cardigan (one of my 2 favorite colors), and a black sleeveless sweater with chiffon rosettes (I love J.Crew's embellishments).

In other "non-retail" shopping news, I have been on the lookout for a pair of brown/tan gladiator-style sandals that wouldn't break the bank (actually not hard to find in this economy, as cheap fashions are popping up everywhere), but would also be good for my feet. Enter Dansko!

Now, I nursed a mild hatred for the famous clog company for some time. You see, I think clogs are ugly. Clunky. And hard to walk in. And even though Danskos were supposed to be marvelous for your feet and back and such, I figured there had to be cuter ways to take care of yourself. Then, I discovered that Dansko made other things besides clogs! Who knew! In fact, they made some very cute non-clog footwear. Now, there was comfort I could get behind. I found my first pair of Danskos, black strappy sandles with a slightly chunky heel, on a clearance table at a local shoe store. Cute? Check. Comfy? Check. Cheap? Check. Tongue tied? Yep. Then, I found the illusive cute and good-for-me gladiators a couple of weeks ago on ebay. Score! Here are the beauts:

(photo couresty of ebay seller theshoemart)

So, if you're in the market for some shoes, can't spend much, but still want something a little more durable than Payless, try ebay. These were one of last season's styles, but, um, really, who's going to know that? And they were less than half of the retail price. The moral of this story? Don't be afraid to look for clothing and shoes through venues you normally wouldn't think of (ebay, craigslist, etc.). You might be surprised at the selection and price, and you're preventing the needless manufacturing of an item that may already be out there floating around someplace.

Coming up next month: New outfits, old clothes.

Ok, a fun waste of time for the not-quite-lunch-yet-no-time-to-start-a-new-project boredom.

As discovered on Lyndsay's blog.

1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer.
2) Select the 4th picture in the folder.
3) Explain the picture.
4) Tag 4 people to do the same.

No cheating (cropping, editing, etc.)

It's us, at a fabulous pre-wedding shower thrown by Crystal & Lyndsay and other fabulous friends. We're surrounded by mounds of white tissue paper. I mean, I'm a wrapper paper saver/re-user, and I could only think of so many uses for this stuff. The recycling center probably thought it snowed later that week.

I'm not going to tag anyone, but if it looks fun and you're bored, do it.

Just for fun, here's another one from the shower.

Chubby bunnies, anyone?

No, I have no shame.

Disney World, Part 2

Ok, so where were we.

Let's see, we'd had an amazing dinner at Marrakesh, and, happy and full, we wandered around some of the other countries for a bit while we waited for the fireworks show. Here we are dancing in Italy.



And attempting to take no-flash pictures in China.


The fireworks show was great (sorry, no pictures), but as soon as that was over, we took our weary feet back to the POPS Century (our Disney hotel) and got a good night's sleep.


Next, onto the Magic Kingdom! While all the Disney parks are wonderful, there will always be a special place in my heart for the Magic Kingdom. You know, it's the one with the Dumbo and Peter Pan rides, and of course Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion. So many good ones! :)

The quintessential castle/crowd shot.

I think I was tired at the Magic Kingdom (it was day 3 after all), because I didn't take nearly as many pictures. It was also threatening to rain most of the day, so maybe I was afraid of getting the camera wet. To make up for the lack of pictures, I'll post a couple of videos for you.

We got to Magic Kingdom early, before it opened, which is great because Mickey and friends come out, and do a song a dance for you before they open the park. It's all very fun. We did all the popular stuff early (Buzz Lightyear [my favorite ride at MK!], Space Mountain, teacups, Haunted Mansion, Pirates), then headed back to Hollywood Studios in the afternoon (when MK got super crowded) for the Indian Jones Stunt Show (we didn't have time to see it the day before). It's a great show, so we were pretty excited.

A little clip from the show:

A funny story at this point in the day: on our way out of the park, Lyndsay and I were pulled aside by a cast member doing customer satisfaction surveys. We got to fill out this little online survey about the quality, price, etc. of the food available. The funny part was that I had waited in not one, not two, but three lines that day, trying in vain to buy a snack, all of which sold out just prior to me reaching the snack stand. I was able to tell the survey "your food is great but please, have some more of it!", and was rewarded for my efforts with a Disney pin, which is happily perched on my dresser at home. :)

Ok, from there we headed back to POPs for some pizza, rest (us girls), and pool time (the boys). We needed to be refreshed for our late-night Magic Kingdom adventure!! That day happened to be Magic Hours, which basically means that anyone staying in a Disney hotel gets to stay later than everyone else. We could stay till 3 a.m.! We put on our rain jackets and hit the soggy but brightly-lit park.

We particularly enjoyed Tomorrowland, with the People Mover and the spaceship ride - the view was great. I loved the glowing castle, as evidenced by the 100 + pictures I took from various angles around the park.

You get the idea. My favorite new MK attraction was the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, an interactive show where the cartoons talk back to you. Somewhere, somehow, there's gotta be someone holding a mic. It's awesome. It's a hard one to take pictures of, though, because it's on a screen, so here's one of the waiting area.


Another highlight of the evening: Lee's "extreme" version of the Tea Cups. While each cup spins around the big circle automatically, there's also a little wheel inside the cup you can turn to spin in little circles as well. The harder you turn, the faster you go. Terrifying, and super fun! :)

By this point, we were getting tired. This is our "I'm soo sleepy but I do not want to leave!" face.

Ultimately, Lee and I only made it 'till about 1 a.m. I think the Slatens made it till 2 or 2:30. Even though I've been to Disney many times, being in the Magic Kingdom at night was something I'd never gotten to do before, and it was a blast!

To conclude this Disney World adventure recap, let me say that if you ever have the chance you should so go to Disney World! I would recommend that you wait until small children are at least 7 or 8 years old, or their experiences will be limited, and probably forgotten. And if you don't have kids, go anyways! You may be surprised at how much fun you have. :)